A Case of Pheochromocytoma Presenting as Syncope Due to Orthostatic Hypotension.

Kim, Ji Yeun; Kim, Sung Woo; Lee, Seung Jun; Kim, Hyun Sook; Jung, Eui Dal; Kum, Yun Seop

doi:2011.26.2.155

Endocrinol Metab > Volume 26(2); 2011 > Article

Case Report

Endocrinology and Metabolism 2011;26(2):155-159.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2011.26.2.155 Published online June 1, 2011.

A Case of Pheochromocytoma Presenting as Syncope Due to Orthostatic Hypotension.

Ji Yeun Kim, Sung Woo Kim, Seung Jun Lee, Hyun Sook Kim, Eui Dal Jung, Yun Seop Kum

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea. jed15@cu.ac.kr
²Department of Pathology, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.

Abstract

Patients with pheochromocytoma manifest with headache, perspiration, and palpitation. Although most patients have either sustained or paroxysmal hypertension, some patients present with hypotension. However, severe orthostatic hypotension is relatively rare in patients with pheochromocytoma. We report here on a 72-year-old woman with pheochromocytoma and she presented with recurrent syncope due to hypotension and blood pressure fluctuation. Syncope due to hypotension is unusual in patients with pheochromocytoma and only a few such cases have been reported. The present case serves to illustrate an unexpected presentation of this tumor.

Key Words: Hypotension, Pheochromocytoma, Syncope